1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in
their own land; and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
2 And the people shall take them and bring them to their place; yea, from far unto the
ends of the earth; and they shall return to their lands of promise. And the house of Israel shall possess them, and the
land of the Lord shall be for servants and handmaids; and they shall take them captives unto whom they were captives; and
they shall rule over their oppressors.
3And it shall come to pass
in that day that the Lord shall give thee rest, from thy
sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.
4And it shall come to pass in that day, that thou shalt take up this proverb against
the king of Babylon, and say: How hath the oppressor ceased, the golden city ceased!
5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the scepters of the rulers.
6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations
in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing.
8 Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and also the cedars of Lebanon, saying: Since
thou art laid down no feller is come up against us.
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the
dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the
nations.
10 All they shall speak and say unto thee: Art thou also become weak as we? Art
thou become like unto us?
11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave; the noise of thy viols is not heard; the
worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! Art thou cut
down to the ground, which did weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and shall consider thee, and
shall say: Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?
17 And made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, and opened
not the house of his prisoners?
18 All the kings of the nations, yea, all of them, lie in glory, every one of them
in his own house.
19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and the remnant
of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under
feet.
20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy
land and slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall never be renowned.
21Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquities of their
fathers, that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
22 For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of Hosts, and cut off from Babylon
the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord.
23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and I will
sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of Hosts.
24 The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying: Surely as I have thought, so shall it come
to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand --
25 That I will bring the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under
foot; then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders.
26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand
that is stretched out upon all nations.
27 For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul? And his hand is
stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is
broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying
serpent.
30 And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety;
and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.
31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved; for there shall
come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
32 What shall then answer the messengers of the nations? That the Lord hath founded
Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.